Brian McTaggart has a post on a topic I've been thinking of for about a week now: Could Brad Mills be the Manager of the Year?
Had the Astros began the season 49-39, Mills would be one of the front-runners for NL Manager of the Year. Mills should probably still get some serious attention for this award. He's taken a team that had very little to play for after two months and has performed magic with a roster full of rookies and a few veterans who have bought into his beliefs.
He mentions Bud Black and Dusty Baker as front-runners, and it's hard to disagree with those two, particularly Black. He's kept a team with a sub-$40m payroll at the front of the NL West (for how much longer remains to be seen), and Dusty Baker has run away with the NL Central with a largely-rookie pitching staff.
But Mills better get some votes.
We didn't come out here to play tiddlywinks, son.
-Hal Smith
